Monthly Archives: June 2018

In a milestone decision on June 28, 2018, the state’s Strategic Growth Council (SGC) awarded San Bernardino $20 million through the California Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program – a first for the Inland Empire. The win reflects a longstanding and heralded public-private partnership to revitalize one of San Bernardino’s core neighborhoods called Arrowhead Grove, formerly known as the Waterman Gardens Public Housing site.

“This decision is paramount in the continued effort toward rehabilitating the Waterman Corridor in San Bernardino,” said City of San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis. “This is a testament to the power of community collaboration. With the support of our partners, we will continue to pursue safe and stable communities for our residents and families to thrive.”

The contribution via AHSC’s implementation of a statewide program uses Cap-and-Trade dollars for projects that improve public health and the environment in disadvantaged communities. The $20 million will help fund two upcoming phases of Arrowhead Grove at North Waterman Avenue and East Baseline Street, compromising 147 affordable housing units and 36 market-rate units, along with pedestrian and transit improvements that will benefit the community-at-large. Upon completion, Arrowhead Grove will include about 400 units as well as community amenities like a pool and clubhouse, upgraded infrastructure, walking paths, a community garden and a computer lab for residents.

National Community Renaissance (National CORE), one of the nation’s largest affordable housing developers and the general contractor for the project, is working in partnership with the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino to transform the Arrowhead Grove neighborhood.

“None of this would be possible without the collective commitment of the City, the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB) and every stakeholder, funder and agency that have dedicated themselves to turning this dream into reality,” said Steve PonTell, president and chief executive officer of National CORE. “We are grateful for the SGC and the AHSC support and we are eager to move forward with the next stages of this transformative effort to rebuild San Bernardino block by block.”

“There is a critical need for affordable housing in San Bernardino County,” said Supervisor Josie Gonzales, whose Fifth District includes Arrowhead Grove. “We owe a great deal of thanks to our legislative delegation, the HASCB, National CORE, other county agencies, and the City of San Bernardino for the hard work they put into acquiring this vital funding source.”

Two initial phases of the Waterman Gardens redevelopment have already been completed. Valencia Vista, the first phase with 76 units, opened to residents in December 2016. A little more than a year later, Olive Meadow, the second phase with 62 units, opened in September 2017. Both have earned recognition from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, among others, for the transformative impact on the lives of residents and the community at-large.

“This was a collaborative effort with so many partners,” said Housing Authority of San Bernardino County’s Executive Director Maria Razo. “We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to effectively invest and leverage our dollars to achieve the vision of affordable housing and active transportation options that improve the health and well-being of the residents who live in the area.”

Financing for the overall Arrowhead Grove plan is through a variety of private and public sources including low-income housing tax credit financing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and federal HOME-Investment Partnership funds.

With this advancement and the continued momentum of the developer, agencies involved are hopeful that Arrowhead Grove’s construction will break ground in late 2018 or early 2019.

ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM (AHSC) The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC) builds healthier communities and protects the environment by increasing the supply of affordable places to live near jobs, stores, transit, and other daily needs. This program is administered by the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) which coordinates the activities of State agencies and partners with stakeholders to promote sustainability, economic prosperity, and quality of life for all Californians. The AHSC Program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap‑and‑Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities. For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at: www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov

ABOUT NATIONAL COMMUNITY RENAISSANCE (NATIONAL CORE) National Community Renaissance, based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. CORE manages nearly 9,000 affordable, senior and market-rate units in California, Arkansas, Texas and Florida. Over its nearly two decade history, the Hope through Housing Foundation has provided more than 2 million hours of transformational social services such as financial literacy training, senior wellness, and preschool and afterschool programs. For more information on National CORE and Hope through Housing, please visit www.nationalcore.org.

ABOUT HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO (HACSB) The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino is one of the nation’s most progressive housing authorities in the Country. As the largest provider of affordable housing in the County, we proudly serve approximately 30,000 people, most of whom are seniors, veterans, disabled individuals, and children. We also work on connecting our families with additional needed to achieve their personal goals. For more information, please visit: www.hacsb.com

ABOUT CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino is a city rooted in rich history and cultural diversity. Located at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, this city is positioned for world-class excellence made possible with access to nearby deserts, mountain communities and beaches. San Bernardino is also situated along one of the nation’s busiest transportation corridors and thrives as a logistics hub. Currently under a major revitalization effort, the City of San Bernardino has endless possibilities for the future. For additional information about San Bernardino, visit www.SBCity.org, facebook.com/sbcitygov or twitter.com/sbcitygov.

A blind dance and Zumba instructor, a Redlands police officer who created a CrossFit gym that helped improve fitness in his community, and a high school student who started a health movement in elementary school that has been expanded to the whole school district were among 56 Action Heroes honored today by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

“We are proud to celebrate the efforts of our fellow neighbors, friends and coworkers who are meeting the challenge to stay active, whether they’ve started a walking group at work or run a 5K race for the first time,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Lovingood.

Vision2BActive is a campaign of the Countywide Vision to improve health and wellness in San Bernardino County by encouraging residents to increase their physical activity and connecting them to existing recreational programs, amenities and activities in their communities.

Only 23 percent of San Bernardino County adults and 34 percent of our youth get the recommended amount of physical activity, according to the most recent data from the California Health Interview Survey. In its 2008 issuance of “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended adults get 150 minutes a week of physical activity and children ages 5 to 17 were encouraged to move at least 60 minutes a day.

Last year, the Vision2BActive campaign asked the public to nominate Action Heroes throughout the county who have made an impact on community wellness by participating in physical activity or promoting physical fitness.

To read the nomination of each of the 56 Action Heroes and their contributions to health and wellness, click here.

Vision2BActive.com is an interactive resource that provides residents with information about physical activity events, fitness tips and a GIS map featuring places to be active in the county.

The Countywide Vision was developed by the community in 2010-11 and adopted by the Board of Supervisors and the San Bernardino Council of Governments Board of Directors in June 2011 in order to create a roadmap for the future of San Bernardino County, which includes creating a healthy and prosperous future for all who live, work and play here.

Vision2BActive is the second public campaign of the Countywide Vision Project following the successful Vision2Read literacy initiative that started in September 2015.

A group of Redlands High School seniors recently wrapped up a world-class eight-year run in the annual international Destination Imagination science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics competition.

The team finished in the top 10 in all eight of their trips to the Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn., including four world championships. This year’s tournament included 1,400 teams from 38 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and 19 countries, including Australia, China, Indonesia and Qatar.

Destination Imagination is a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching students the creative process through hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) challenges.

“These students have worked so hard and accomplished so much this year in our annual competition,” said Michele Tuck-Ponder, Interim CEO for Destination Imagination. “When you get more than 8,000 of the brightest young minds in the world putting their talents on display, it really is awe-inspiring. Every year, we get to see the future leaders in STEAM, and I’m always amazed with what they produce.”

The team from Redlands, working this year under the name Capital Funishment, finished ninth in their Technical Challenge, presenting a fully autonomous vehicle that could navigate a randomly selected maze using sensors, coding and mathematics.